2012 Honda NC700X Review

The 2012 Honda NC700X is the Big H’s attempt to solve the world’s problems. Rootsy traveled to Portugal to discover whether the NC700X truly is the answer.

As far as design goes, the NC700X is a resounding success

It’s hard to argue with data, especially when it doesn’t argue back. Numbers just sit there, smug in the knowledge that they’ve been researched, collated and calculated.

So in trying to understand biking’s current malaise, Honda sent a team of researchers into the field to understand how bikers use their machines, in the hope of being able to present a more applicable product. The numbers that came back were interesting. According to the stats, 90 per cent of all riding is done below 140kph and an engine only ever revs above 6,000rpm just 20 per cent of the time. Though the logic deduced from these figures is skewed (uncontroversially implying that riders are by and large law abiding citizens, and that the largely unused potential of a bike is unimportant), it certainly makes sense that a bike should be built for these very conditions.

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2 Comments

Is this the future of biking? – probably yes for the majority of bikers who really would love the exotica but whose bank accounts and marital status suggest this as the only alternative

What about those ‘fuck it moments’? – they are few and far between in this country where the state of the roads and the likelihood of licence loss mean that only the terminally befuddled would attempt them with any regularity. Personally I would rather see many, many more bikers on the road than in court.
Thank you for a good honest report 🙂
Peter (Cog) Clark

Here we have a mid sized engine, designed for economy, but only reaching some 78mpg. We are now in the 21st century, where design from economy is paramount, and not a new concept. I have had over 50MPG from my Bandit 1250, and my new Versys 650 brings 55mpg. I admit, I am tight with the throttle and should I want a shot at the 10%, I would be looking at a good old RGV250 or even maybe the RD500LC. Regardless.

Lets take a look at our 4 wheeled counterparts in this market place. The triple 1 litre from Toyota, 55mpg and thats pulling a car!. The 800cc from the Smart car….thats much more than 55mpg….much more. We have the might of Honda, creating a new solution for the fruggle rider, which brings at best, 78mpg. This is not good enough. The programme manager for the build should have stippulated high expectations. I would be looking for 120mpg…and this is not out of reach where Honda could really offer its customer, new, current, and up an coming, a true option to economical transportation. That said, if the same machine could do 120mpg, I guess the OTR price would be much more than the current NC700X, and probably out of reach of the economy driven motorist (I say motorist as this machine is trying to tease car drivens onto two wheels…..which is a great thing).

This reminds me of my days at school……..Honda, a good try but you could do so much better. I will seriously be considering this bike as a replacement for my Versys in a couple of years.